Many providers of natural gas make use of natural gas measurement and regulation (M&R) stations to control and track natural gas usage by other parties in the chain of distribution whenever a custody transfer occurs. At these stations, an electrically-powered flow computer is often used to control the operation of a valve (often a run switch), opening or closing it to provide more or less natural gas flow in response to customer demand. Measurement and regulation stations are often equipped with a photovoltaic power system to provide electrical power to their equipment (generally flow computers, measurement instrumentation, and various actuators), and may be equipped with a battery intended to store a small amount of electrical power to run this equipment during short and routine periods of low insolation (such as during the night or during periodic bouts of cloudy weather). Other measurement and regulation stations are directly provided with electrical power from the grid.
However, under circumstances when power from the grid has been lost or when photovoltaics are unable to provide adequate electrical power for an extended length of time (such as during extended rain, severe cloudiness, or during extreme weather conditions such as a hurricane), M&R stations cannot adequately monitor natural gas usage. As such, they commonly stop the flow of gas through the station entirely. This forces recipients of natural gas that are downstream from the M&R stations, often including distribution utilities and natural gas-fired power plants, to cease operations, something that has in the past caused brown-outs and curtailment of power just when power has been needed the most (i.e. during or after hurricanes).